A. relatives B. Watching C. called D. important E. lanterns F. along G. Looking H. traditions I. while J. strangers K. guessing L. rise |
The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. This day is always the first full moon in the new year. Ancient people also it Shangyuan Festival. Celebrations andon this day began from the Han Dynasty (朝代)and became popular in the Tang Dynasty. Watching the redis one of the main traditions. Lanterns of different shapes and sizes are usually put on trees, orriver banks on show. It is said that sky lanterns were first used by Zhuge Kongming to ask for help when he was in trouble. Today, when the lanterns slowlyinto the air, people make wishes.
Another tradition islantern riddles (谜语). The riddles are usually short, wise, and sometimes humorous (幽默的). The answer to a riddle can be a Chinese character (汉字)，a famous person's name, or a name of a place.
The mostthing is to eat sweet dumplings with different tastes, because they are symbols of reunion and wishes for good luck. In northern China, they are called yuanxiaoin southern part they're named tangyuan. Because making sweet dumplings is like a game or an activity, they are usually done happily by a group of friends or .
In old times, the Lantern Festival was also romantic (浪漫的). lanterns gave young people a chance to meet each other. A line from Xin Qiji, a poet during the Song Dynasty, shows this:
Hundreds and thousands of times I searched for her in the crowd. Suddenly I turned, and there she stood, in the dim.
